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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

2 Timothy 4:5 “But
you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,
fulfill your ministry.”

These past several days we have looked at the call and priority of biblical preaching. Preaching matters because of the character of scripture, it is commanded by God and it is constantly needed. Today we want to consider a fourth and final reason from 2 Timothy 3:16-4:5 as to why preaching matters: It completes God's Will . We will be considering this particular thought from the standpoint of noting the particular marks of a solid preaching ministry that aims to complete God's will. The marks of a solid preaching ministryThe verse above gives us four marks of a solid, preaching ministry. For those who are reading this blog today, I would urge you to mark these down and then
pray your pastor. Your pastor needs your
prayers, since by them and through them is he able to continue to fulfill God’s will
for both His calling and the flock to which he is called to preach Word.

Note what kind of preaching fulfills God’s will:

a. Solid Preaching is balanced or “sober”. That is, preaching balances well between engaging the mind, moving the heart and compelling the conscience.

b. Solid Preaching knows how to endure. It is no secret that hard seasons may be experienced
in the course of the church’s life as she endeavors to carry forth and live out the Gospel in an increasingly godless age. The command to endure hardship includes with it the grace of God to endure. Paul states in Colossians 1:29 that he was able to continue in ministry because of Christ's power working in him.

c. Solid Preaching has heart. When the preacher is commanded to do the work of an evangelist, that means his preaching must be done so with the heart, as well as the mind and the conscience. Preaching that only aims to inform the mind will produce cold Christians. Likewise, preaching that only aims at the conscience will produce contentious Christians. As we noted earlier, Solid preaching is balanced or sober, since it takes into consideration the mind, the conscience and the heart. It is the heart that connects the mind and the conscience. You and I need doctrine in the mind and conviction of the conscience to move to passion in the heart. Godly living and evangelism requires these elements.

d. Solid Preaching aims to please God. This is important, since God, not man, is the aim of
the pleasing end of preaching. When Paul writes to "fulfill your ministry", he is speaking of the ministry to which every pastor is called by God to do. The will of God is what God ordains and desires. As much as I preach to the people, I am preaching before and through the Lord. Every pastor will someday stand before Christ to give an account for every word stated or not stated. (James 3:1) If a preacher will but aim to please God in every message, God will be pleased to take that sermon and apply it as needed to the people. (Acts 20:24; Colossians 1:28-29)

The Solid preacher who aims to please God will do three things

I would pray that in the preaching of His Word, that every word
would never fall to the ground. (1 Samuel 3:19)Would it
be that God’s will be fulfilled. Every pastor's aim,
above all else, should be to fulfill what God has called them to do: To
labor in the word and prayer; to love the people of God and to lead the
flock, presenting every person complete in Christ. (Colossians 1:28).

May we make preaching a priority, since
God’s Word, God Himself, the needs of our time and the will of God compels us
to do so.